Can resolution of pics be changed?

[lengmianxia]

I have taken a number of photos using my friend's digital camera and the default resolution is 640 x 480. However, when I try to send for printing, they say that the min. resolution for 4R is 1024x 768. My question is - is there a way to change the resolution of the pics from 640 x 480 to 1024x768 so that I can send them for printing? If so, what is the software to use?

 

[Tweek]

yes there is, but scaling up images will definitely result in a loss of quality. Photoshop's bicubic interpolation can do an acceptable job if the enlargement percentage isn't too large. If you want better softwares, you can also try Genuine Fractals, Stairs Interpolation and there are some more that I can't remember.

Actually, 640x480 can give u decent but not high-quality 4R prints. If you want to die die print at 640x480 you can try. Else I think upsizing to 1024x768 using the softwares mentioned above should be a better bet.

 

[ckiang]

Moving thread here (from Photo Events) as it's not about a photo event.

In any case, 640x480 should be able to produce a decent 4R. Not very good, just decent.

Regards
CK

 

[mpenza]

you can always decrease the amount of details in an image file but you can't increase the details. if you resize/resample a 640x480 to 1024x768, the amount of details is still 640x480.

 

[Jayan]

A rough guide for minimum requirements in printing:

800x600 (0.5MP) -> 3R

1024x768 (0.8MP) -> 4R

1280 x 960 (1.3MP) -> 5R

1600x1200 (2.1MP) -> 6R

2048 x 1536 (3.3MP) -> 8R

 

[Zookeeper]

If your concern is about getting the pix out on hardcopy printouts, and don't mind if the printouts are smaller than 4R, can try this: use photoshop to combine two pix, side by side, into a single 1024x768 file. Then when you get the 4R print back, just cut into the smaller prints, which will be half of 4R. I do that to save money, the size looks quite cute too.

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by Jayan
A rough guide for minimum requirements in printing:

800x600 (0.5MP) -> 3R

1024x768 (0.8MP) -> 4R

1280 x 960 (1.3MP) -> 5R

1600x1200 (2.1MP) -> 6R

2048 x 1536 (3.3MP) -> 8R

These are a bit too convervative. You can actually get by with:

4R -> 640 x 480
5R -> 1024 x 768
6R -> 1280 x 960
8R -> 1600 x 1200
8RC -> 1800 x 1200

Above 8R will probably need >= 3.3mp. I've done great 8R prints, several of them, using a mere 1600 x 1200 image.

Regards
CK

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by ckiang


These are a bit too convervative. You can actually get by with:

4R -> 640 x 480
5R -> 1024 x 768
6R -> 1280 x 960
8R -> 1600 x 1200
8RC -> 1800 x 1200

I agree. I just printed quite a few 8Rs at Colour Lab Photofinishing with 1600x1200 for a friend's ROM photos, and the printouts are fantastic, almost like taken at a professional lab.

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by Tweek


I agree. I just printed quite a few 8Rs at Colour Lab Photofinishing with 1600x1200 for a friend's ROM photos, and the printouts are fantastic, almost like taken at a professional lab.

It's the camera maker's marketing that gives such perception. Back when 2mp cameras are popular, we are told 1600 x 1200 is good for 8R. When 3mp cameras became popular, we are then told 2048 x 1536 is good for 8R, and suddenly 1600 x 1200 is only good for 5R, and so on.

Obviously, some labs prefer to play safe and quote the more sensitive specs like the ones Jayan posted. But I did have good results from 1600 x 1200 images.

Regards
CK

 

[siron]

Usually I will print in 4R (4x3 or (3x2)
and I only use max resolution at 1.3MP.
Hardly ustelise up to 5MP which the cam is capable of.